Nov. 2014 This week I got an unexpected health diagnosis. It kind of knocked my socks off. It also took away my ability to make beads anymore. So I am changing my blog. I am sure I will write about beads sometimes. I have a whole studio to part with, but I have health issues that are much more important and I want to share my thoughts and challenges on this blog. I hope you will come along with me and share your words of wisdom or encouragement.

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Thursday, April 2, 2015

AND SO IT GOES

Since I wrote last my sweet Sara has been in the hospital twice,with a possible shunt malfunction and an UTI. Her shunt was repaired, but we are sitting on a time bomb because her shunt is 32 years old and antiquated by today's standards. Shunt replacement is a surgery with many risks so we will continue on until it just stops working. It's so hard to see her in pain, or scared, since she has no words to tell us how she feels, or what hurts. We were in a great hospital with wonderful staff and they took very good care of her, but one of us was at her side constantly.

I saw my pulmonologist this past week. I won't know if this new drug is slowing the disease process until I have another CT scan and that won't be for 3-4 months. I waited 2 hours for him and then he was only with me for about 4 min. Why does this happen...overbooking? Too many people with the same disease and not enough doctors to follow them? Emergencies? Who knows, but it isn't good for the mind of someone newly diagnosed...there are so many questions, so many fears.....and no time to ask the questions that haunt me.

I've discovered that having a disease with no cure is very lonely. No one wants to talk about it. It's as if we don't discuss it, it isn't there. Or maybe people think they shouldn't ask me about it because it will make me think about it......like it is ever off my mind.

3 comments:

I can't relate to having a disease without a cure but, in a way, I think it might be a little like grief. People don't know what to say. If they say nothing then you think they don't care or have forgotten. If they mention the name and you cry they feel awful and vow not to make that mistake again.I think the average "Joe" expects that every health problem can be solved by either surgery or some kind of treatment. When they bump into someone like you, they are simply baffled. "Don't ask her how she's doing because she's not going to get better." I'll certainly be keeping Sara in my thoughts. And you too, my friend.BTW, I didn't toot or wave when we passed through Louisville the other day - we were re-routed onto the bypass because of construction and I was busy keeping my eyes peeled.

About Me

I am a retired registered nurse who began making beads in 1999. Before glass owned me I was a quilter and an oil painter. In Nov. of 2014 I learned that I have Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. I was advised by my pulmonologist to stop making beads immediately. He said that although he could not prove that beadmaking was responsible for my disease, inhaling the fumes and possible debis from glass making would only make things worse. Therre is no cure for IPF and I want to protect my lungs as much as I can. So I have moved on to different forms of art.